Dear Museum-L members,
Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and encouragement. The
readiness with which everyone seems to share is very nice to see.
The following summary is obviously not a long, technical research
project, but rather a quick survey of existing programs with the
information synthesized into a quick and dirty report. If any of you
have found other trends or would like to add anything to this please
let me know.
Many thanks,
Sarah
Many thanks to those Museum-L members who kindly offered me
information and encouragement.
Trends in Curriculum boxes/trunks/crates/etc:
There are two major trends in curriculum boxes within the museum
setting:
The first, and most widely used by smaller or lower budget museums,
are those boxes that are created and distributed by the museum
without museum personnel going to the school or other site. The boxes
tend to remain on-site for one to two weeks. These boxes contain the
objects as well as instructions for use by the teacher, scout leader,
or other borrower.
The second type of box is taken to the school by a docent or
educational staff member. The docent or staff member explores the box
with the students, giving a scripted talk about the contents, then
leads them through some type of activity or craft. The box typically
does not remain on site after the docent visit. To be most cost
effective, the presenter often gives several presentations at one
school over the course of a single day. These presentations generally
have a maximum audience of 45-60 children as prescribed by the museum
education coordinator. These boxes involve greater cost for both the
museum and the borrower.
ÿ A growing number of museums offer both types of boxes.
Objects: The object trends in outreach boxes/trunks/crates/etc seem
to be consistent. The average box contains "touchable" objects in
the form of either expendable artifacts/specimens or reproduction
items; reference materials for the teacher; books, posters, tapes,
videos, CD-ROM or other multi-media for student use; and lesson plans
or activity suggestions. Boxes may also contain supplies for crafts
or other activities depending on the museum.
ÿ Discovery Center in the Dalles and the High Desert Museum outside
Bend have excellent descriptions on their website.
Fees: Fees range from free or free plus the cost of postage, to $150
for a two-week checkout. An emerging trend seems to be a refundable
deposit of $40-80. The deposit is returned upon confirmation that
all box contents have been returned in good condition.
Check out policies: Checkout policies often include the area in which
the boxes may be lent; the method of transportation (mail if outside
immediate area); how long the box may be checked out for (ranges from
one to two weeks on average); and the condition the box is to be in
when it is returned.
Marketing: Museum newsletters, museum website, teacher education
events, and targeted brochures and letters are the common threads in
the marketing of these resources. Several websites also mentioned
placement of marketing materials, or in some cases, of the boxes
themselves in homeschool resource centers. Several websites
featured very detailed descriptions and photos of their boxes.
Websites visited:
Bower Museum of Cultural Art
http://www.bowers.org/
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center
http://www.gorgediscovery.org/
High Desert Museum
http://www.highdesertmuseum.org/
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon
http://uoma.uoregon.edu/
Joslyn Art Museum
http://www.joslyn.org/
Lindsay Wildlife Museum
http://www.wildlife-museum.org/
San Diego Natural History Museum
http://www.sdnhm.org/
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
http://www.sbnature.org/
Utah Museum of Natural History
http://www.umnh.utah.edu/
Sarah Hatcher
Summer Public Programs Intern
U of O Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Arts Administration Graduate Student
University of Oregon
www.natural-history.uoregon.edu
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